


A Bond Forged in Hope

by jay_of_the_beholder



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Breakfast, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Is Gay, Except for Sasha and Bertie, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Grizzop is Grizzop, It's just super self indulgent., Kissing, Lazy Mornings, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Post-Canon, Scars, Spoilers for Ancient Rome Sidequest (Rusty Quill Gaming), They take a nice walk together, Who cares if this isn't canon compliant., Wilde deserves happiness, Zolf is sappy, Zolf makes breakfast, minor language, references to the past, spoilers for RQG 174
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:09:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27143641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jay_of_the_beholder/pseuds/jay_of_the_beholder
Summary: Zolf always wakes up before them, a small sliver of sunlight peeking through the curtains and coming to rest in a warm line across his face.
Relationships: Azu & Celiquilliton "Cel" Sidebottom, Celiquillithon "Cel" Sidebottom/Azu (Implied), Commander James Barnes & Howard Carter (Rusty Quill Gaming), Commander James Barnes/Howard Carter (Rusty Quill Gaming), Grizzop drik Acht Amsterdam & Oscar Wilde, Grizzop drik Acht Amsterdam & Zolf Smith, Grizzop drik Acht Amsterdam/Oscar Wilde, Grizzop drik Acht Amsterdam/Zolf Smith, Grizzop drik Acht Amsterdam/Zolf Smith/Oscar Wilde, Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan & Azu, Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan & Celiquillithon "Cel" Sidebottom, Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan/Azu (Implied), Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan/Celiquillithon "Cel" Sidebottom (Implied), Zolf Smith & Oscar Wilde, Zolf Smith/Oscar Wilde
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	A Bond Forged in Hope

**Author's Note:**

> This is just really self-indulgent soft warm fluffy fic to soothe the soul after the more recent episode of RQG. Enjoy!

Zolf always wakes up before them, a small sliver of sunlight peeking through the curtains and coming to rest in a warm line across his face. _Everything_ is warm. The covers pulled up to his chest, the body he’s curled up against; sleeping soundly. His fingers brush the arm of someone on the other side, and he leaves them there for a moment; taking in the sounds of the morning. With a stifled yawn, he slowly moves to get up so as not to wake his partners. The bed creaks a bit as he sits up, grabbing his legs from where they sit on the floor and attaching them somewhat clumsily before standing.

He always sneaks a glance back before he leaves. Some mornings, Oscar’s eyes drift over to meet his with a tired, easy smile. On mornings like these Oscar is still fast asleep, his arm curled protectively around the small form snuggled cosy against his chest. The corners of Zolf’s mouth turn up at the sight of them, and he takes a moment to settle into the feeling before closing the door quietly behind him.

The kitchen isn’t very impressive, but it’s easy enough for him to move around, and stocked with plenty to make breakfast with. French toast seems to be the order of the day, so he gets to work prepping the grill and getting out the few ingredients he needs. It’s easy to fall into the rhythm of cooking every morning, some different smell filling the kitchen and eventually inviting his partners to find him again. He smiles at the prospect of what they’ll fill the day with. Perhaps a stroll to the park.

Perhaps Grizzop would continue teaching him archery, though he knows he’ll never be any good at it. Grizzop is nimble, precise, quick with his movements and sharply on mark with every draw of the bow and every adjustment he makes to aim. Zolf prefers to admire, watching as the arrow hits its mark each time those skilled fingers release the arrow. Each time Grizzop turns to him with a wide, toothy smile and accepts Zolf’s praise of his craft.

Or perhaps Oscar might put on a vinyl and invite him to dance. If he’s being honest, he hasn’t picked up that either. Oscar seems to be meant for it, his long limbs swaying gracefully, always on beat; his voice perfectly tuned and filling the room. (Slower than it had filled Zolf’s heart, though he’d do well not to inflate the man’s ego.) Sometimes the remnants of magic will fill the room, despite the man not using it as often as he had before everything had happened...

\---

_ Their scars don’t fade for a while. _

_ Zolf sees how Oscar hovers close to Grizzop whenever he’s able, sometimes brushing against the goblin like he’s afraid Grizzop is just an apparition. Like if Oscar can’t touch him, he’ll disappear. Grizzop had come back far later than the others, right before they’d stopped the end of the world, with a sharp tongue and a new mark in the center of his forehead. He hadn’t explained much to Zolf beyond some quickly spoken gibberish about Artemis, but Zolf knows he’d had a long conversation with Oscar about it. He remembers the grateful looks and the reddened eyes when he brought them tea after they’d grown quiet. _

_ Zolf hovers as well, putting a hand on Oscar’s arm when they stand beside each other, or when he’s speaking to the man. Sometimes on particularly bad nights, Oscar allows Zolf to press two fingers to his wrist to check for a pulse, or to lay a gentle palm across his torso and murmur thanks to whatever will listen. _

_ It takes time for them to heal… but they have time now. All the time they’ve wanted for months has finally gifted them with its presence. _

\---

Hands around his shoulders draw him languidly from his musings, and a kiss to the top of his head tells him precisely who it is.

“G’morning sleeping beauty.”

“Mm,” comes the response. “Flatterer.”

“Don’t let it get to your head,” he says with a smile, leaning into the next kiss pressed to his cheek.

“Don’t worry, I will.”

Zolf hums and the arms around him slowly leave; he sees the man attached to them begin to take some plates out and he cradles them as he looks down at Zolf.

“What are you making this morning?”

He glances up, attempting to remain composed despite Oscar’s hair falling in such a beautiful way and his eyes still sleepy and lidded from having just woken up.

“French toast.”

“Oh, you absolute gift.” Oscar places a hand on his shoulder and gives it a small squeeze, a crooked smile gracing his face. “I can’t wait.”

Zolf shrugs him off. “You’re gonna have to. But it’ll be ready soon.”

Oscar sighs somewhat dramatically. “I suppose you’ll have to entertain me until then.”

\---

Grizzop comes down last, his quick footfalls descending the stairs and into the kitchen. He’s awake as the sun, dressed in his usual attire (save for armor) and a quiver slung across his back.

“Wotcher,” he chirps, pointedly grinning at the pink on Zolf’s cheeks and Oscar’s smug smile. He sets his bow on the dining table and turns back to them. “What’s cookin’ today?”

“ _ Shit _ .” Zolf worms himself out of Oscar’s arms and grabs his oven mitts, easy laughter reaching his ears as he fumbles with the grill.

“Gross,” Grizzop comments, earning a snort from Oscar.

“He’s making French toast. At least he  _ was _ .”

“Distracting arse,” Zolf mumbles under his breath, the warmth of Oscar’s lips slowly fading from his.

Grizzop makes a snide remark about snogging in the kitchen, Oscar fires back a retort, and Zolf puts the food on a platter and carries it to the table. As they eat, they talk and laugh about nothing and everything. Oscar makes a side comment about an article he’d read, and Grizzop asks about the Harrison Campbell he’s recently picked up. Zolf inquires about Oscar’s latest book and Grizzop offers somewhat outlandish suggestions for content.

\---

They do end up going on a walk, the three of them breathing in the cool, cloudy air. Oscar walks beside him, Zolf’s arm in the crook of his elbow. Grizzop jogs ahead to look at something, then turns to wait for them to catch up.

“Slow old men,” the goblin grumbles, though he himself has begun to show signs of age. He takes the hand that Oscar offers, though, and Zolf sees him smile. They catch each other’s eye, and Grizzop’s eyes grow fond. He can’t help but give a genuine smile back.

Zolf knows he and Grizzop didn’t have an initial connection. They didn’t know each other before he’d left and Grizzop had stood in for him when the party had needed him most. But the paladin was family; just as Hamid, Sasha, and Oscar had been, and how Cel, Azu, Barnes, and Carter had become. Yes, he’s got a  _ family _ . Hamid, Azu and Cel’s visits always bring merriment and warmth into their house, where Barnes and Carter bring the wine and easy bickering. Of course he’s got Oscar to practice his patience on… and to love, he supposes. And now Grizzop to keep him in check, and to remind him that life is short enough; and to make every second of it count. Not to mention the way the goblin manages to make Oscar smile in a certain way, and make him take care of himself on days where Zolf can’t seem to get through. He sees now how content the bard is, humming a familiar tune with a smile gracing his lips, he can’t think of anywhere else he’s rather be, or anyone else he’d rather be with than his partners.

He loves Oscar’s easy happiness. He loves that he and Grizzop had given it to him. He’s grown to love Grizzop through that happiness, and he knows the paladin has done the same. They’ve formed a bond that cannot be truly explained in words, but expressed in the way Grizzop’s hand gently grips Oscar’s, the way Oscar hums a song whose lyrics mean everything to them, and the way Zolf pulls his arm slightly closer in an act of reassurance and security. A bond that was birthed in carnage and lives to see a simpler time, and a bond Zolf can feel within him. One he knows is true.

Because the bond they have is forged in hope, and no evil in the world will ever manage to destroy it.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah that evil? That's Alexander J. Newall. Stop shattering my heart Alex please.


End file.
